Well that was a tough one to swallow for Swift Current. They did so many things right in that game… but just couldn’t get the power play going. It was a game well setup for a power play goal or two to lift them to a victory. Instead, Edmonton’s excellent penalty kill shut the door. You can see why the Oil Kings have only given up 8 power play goals all year.

I know after the game there was talk about the two mistakes that led to Edmonton’s goals. Were those important? Of course, but you’re going to make mistakes in games and Edmonton is usually going to score a couple of times. You can’t expect to win games 1-0. When you get seven power play chances you have to find a way to convert. When you have that much time in their zone you have to find a way to score more than once. I felt like that was more important to the result of this game than one or two mistakes defensively.

Edmonton bent all game but didn’t break. That’s why they’re a great team. Even when they were on their heels they didn’t give up a lot of second and third chances in front of their goal and kept it together on the PK. They kept themselves in the game and jumped on Swift Current’s few mistakes to take two points with them on the bus as they head off on a road swing to BC.

The Broncos finished the week going 1-1-1. I still thought it was one of their better weeks of the season so far. They played a solid sixty minutes of hockey in all three games and certainly outchanced their opponents in each game. You’d much rather have 3 wins or even 2, but the team is showing a lot of positive signs. They still obviously need to find a way to convert more of their chances, but they controlled the time of possession throughout the week and seem to be trending in the right direction.

Here is my recap from Swift Current Online:

Michael St. Croix scored at 8:17 of the third period to lift the defending WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings over the Swift Current Broncos 2-1 on Saturday night.

Swift Current limited the high powered Edmonton offence to 20 shots and scattered scoring chances, but two mistakes in their own end were enough for the Oil Kings to earn the two points. Luke Bertolucci beat Dalton Reum to a rebound in front of the Broncos net for the first Edmonton goal at 13:53 of the second period and the Oil Kings took advantage of a Richard Nedomlel turnover on the game winner

“I think we played a very good game but what kills it at the end is we do it to ourselves,” said Broncos Assistant Coach Darren Evjen. “We turn the puck over, they’re a very skilled team and it’s in the back of our net.”

The Broncos controlled much of the play throughout the game and started with a 10-0 shot advantage. Levi Bews opened the scoring for the Broncos by deflecting in a Dillon Heatherington shot with a minute to play at the end of the first period. That was the only time the Broncos found the back of the net despite lots of puck possession in the Edmonton zone and seven opportunities on the man advantage.

“They pressure hard,” said Broncos defenceman Reece Scarlett. “But for the most part it was our fault. We weren’t moving the puck well, we weren’t making crisp passes and we just weren’t thinking well.. I just don’t think we’re working hard enough.”

Laurent Brossoit made 27 saves for the Oil Kings and was very effective in playing the puck on Swift Current dump-ins.

“You’ve got to come with some speed,” Evjen said. “He was playing the puck well so you’ve got to get it away from him and you’ve got to come through with speed… once we got control and started moving the puck we got some chances.”

Eetu Laurikainen made 18 saves in a losing cause for the Broncos. He didn’t face too many high quality scoring chances as the Broncos really contained Edmonton’s top guns throughout most of the game.

“You make sure you get the pucks deep,” Evjen said. “You forecheck, make sure you have a high guy in the offensive zone, you don’t give them outnumbered situations or quick transitions in the neutral zone. In our own zone we were good. We did a good job of pressuring them and not giving them a chance to create.”

The Broncos went 1-1 in their two weekend home games and sit tied for 2nd place in the East Division with 19 points. Their next action is in Prince Albert on Wednesday.

Advertisements

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

About shawnmullin

Play by Play Broadcaster for the WHL's Swift Current Broncos on 94.1 FM The Eagle.

4 Responses to Post-Game: Oil Kings 2 Broncos 1

More excuses. I hope this blog doesn’t reflect the views of the organization. The Oil Kings are a good team that had an off night but still found a way to win. The Broncos are a below average team that had a good night but found a way to lose. It is becoming humerous to check this blog and watch your excuse filled pre game shows to see your spin on the team which is not based in reality.

How is it an excuse to say they lost because they couldn’t score on the PP?

It’s becoming humorous to get comments from people who expect this blog to be what… constantly negative and complaining? I watched the game and I thought they played very well but couldn’t convert on their chances so that’s what I wrote.

Does it reflect the views of the organization? Of course not. I don’t work for the organization.

I write what I see. When I said Siemens was great the other day it’s because that’s what I saw… when I said the Broncos looked tired in their loss two weeks ago in PA it’s because they did… I’m not telling you the team is the best in the league or the worst. I don’t have an agenda. All I’m doing is relaying my view from game to game.